


At Your Side

by NextTrickAnvils



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Claudeleth Week (Fire Emblem), F/M, Post-Verdant Wind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:42:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25380325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NextTrickAnvils/pseuds/NextTrickAnvils
Summary: When Claude is poisoned, Byleth stays by his bedside until he recovers.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Kudos: 68





	At Your Side

**Author's Note:**

> Happy start of Claudeleth Week, everyone!
> 
> First Prompt: Comfort
> 
> Also this ended up being a sort of sequel to another story I wrote called Stay with me but you don't necessarily need to read that before you read this one.

At that moment, Byleth learned the most terrifying sentence in the world.

“Claude let his guard down.”

Byleth made a mental note to apologize to the servants she nearly knocked down in her rush to the Healer.

As she entered, she immediately spotted Claude, pale, sweating, and his arm in bandages but still breathing and standing over him was a frustrated looking Nader.

“What happened?” Byleth asked

“There was an assassin disguised as a servant girl. Tried to poison the lad with bad tea.” Nader explained

“...I don’t understand, how Claude could fall for…?”

“Oh he didn’t, in fact he made a big scene out of accidentally dropping the cup and saying he wasn’t in the mood for tea… but the assassin had a back-up plan. Managed to slash his arm with a poisoned dagger. But the kiddo’s a stubborn one, actually took her on and knocked her down before he passed out and I took him to the Healer.”

Byleth bit her lip as she stared at her husband then she felt Nader’s hand on her shoulder.

“The poison used. I’m assuming that it was the usual venom that’s used on poisoned weapons...”

Nader nodded, “Don’t worry, it was. We got him the antidote as soon as we got here. He’ll need rest to get that poison out of his body but he’ll be alright.”

“...Then I’ll stay with him til he wakes up. Could you please…?”

“Of course Your Majesty. ALRIGHT EVERYONE, LET’S GIVE THESE TWO SOME SPACE.”

Nader quickly herded out the nurses and the onlookers out of the room and when he closed the door, Byleth and Claude were the only ones left. 

She sighed as she pushed a strand of hair out of her husband’s face and took his hand.

Byleth knew that the path to Claude’s dream of a world with no borders would not be an easy one and that there were many who would oppose it by any means they deemed necessary. And that wasn’t even including those who opposed Claude’s existence in general.

Yet...

She felt a small amount of shame for letting peacetime make her grow complacent.

Then she suddenly felt her hand being squeezed, Byleth looked up and saw Claude awake.

“Hey By… that is you right? Not some hallucination?”

Byleth rolled her eyes and smiled, “Yes it’s me. And I’m also annoyed at you for getting so overconfident.”

Claude gave a small smile, “Sorry about that.”

He then winced as he began to cough.

“Do you need anything?”

“I could use some water, please. There’s a pitcher and cup on the end table.”

Byleth turned to the end table and poured a cup of water. She then gently sat Claude up and helped him down the cup.

“Heh, I could have held the cup myself but I appreciate it.” He remarked in a joking tone

“Clearly you’re not dying if your sense of humor is still intact.” Byleth said with a smirk as she laid him back down

Claude looked at Byleth, his joking smile becoming a little more gentle.

“You know this sort of brings me back?”

“Hm?”

“During the Academy days… when your father died and you overworked yourself… You ended up passing out and… you begged me to stay with you. You were delirious and grieving and… I just couldn’t abandon you.”

In the far corners of Byleth’s mind, she vaguely recalls the events Claude spoke of.

She remembers throwing herself into training and teaching, anything to keep her mind off of her father’s death, until it finally caught up to her.

She also remembers guiding a warm gentle hand to her cheek and it wiping away the tears she shed.

Byleth chuckles as she once again guides Claude’s hand to her cheek.

“I apologize that it took me so long to repay the favor. Just as you stayed with me, I’ll stay with you until you’re fully recovered.”

“Well you don’t need to stay that long, I mean I still got out of the way for Manuela to take care of you… but if you insist...”

“Don’t take this as an excuse for you to get careless again.”

“Oh, don’t worry, as nice as having you around is… the coughing and feeling like my insides are on fire is less worth it. Once I feel better, I’m definitely making it up to you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Byleth said before planting a kiss in Claude’s messy hair

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on Tumblr @ https://nexttrickanvils.tumblr.com/ and Twitter @ https://twitter.com/NextTrickAnvils


End file.
